Ah, what a dumb year it was! Fortune chose the absolutely dumbest of the dumb that the gods of fate and humor delivered into our laps - and yours - this past year.

British artist Damien Hirst, famous for such works as a tiger shark preserved in a tank of formaldehyde, creates the most expensive piece of contemporary art in history: a
platinum human skull covered with 8,601 diamonds. Called "For the Love of God," the piece is reportedly sold to an unnamed investment group for $100 million.